In 2009 Steve Andrews rode his motorbike around Australia to raise awareness for depression. This illness will affect 1 in 5 Australians, and currently affects 1 million adults and an estimated 100 000 young people.

A good friend of mine Tony, as well as 2 other colleagues, Raz and Andrew, have joined what has become this year’s annual event, the Black Dog Ride. They will be riding 6000 kms to the Red Centre of Australia and back on motorbikes raising awareness and funding. You can support Tony at http://tonyblackdogride.posterous.com

Personal

I guess when you have a family of 6, that has moved countries, experienced divorce, illness, and death, the odds are at least one family member will experience depression.

Our story started way earlier than 2003, but that’s when Em, now 20, was diagnosed in a cataclysmic experience. We’ve journeyed as a family for the last 7 years and to support Tony in his ride, I put together a video chronicling some of that experience.

Note, the video is short at only 4 mins 30, this is because I’ve entered it into the inaugural Mobile Screenfest Competition, which has a maximum length guideline. I will be editing a longer version sometime this week.

Here’s “Discussing Depression”

In this transparent and vulnerable video, a young 20 year old, Em and her dad, me, share their 7 year journey with depression.

Every aspect of the movie was shot on the Apple iPhone4 in 720p HD

If the movie spoke to you, and want to raise publicity for Tony, please do head over and vote for the video It’s not up on the site yet (I’ll update this post when it is) but you’ll need to select the “Best Phone Journalism” category, then rate the video.

And You…

If you’re experiencing depression, or one of your family members are, feel free to contact me for a chat. Teen depression especially doesn’t exhibit like adult depression. I know this very well. There’s certainly no reason to feel a failure as a parent, anymore than if your child had broken their leg, or contracted pneumonia. Again, I know that knowing this does not change how you feel as a parent.

Talk about it.

It’s been 8 months since our last Episode, and almost a year since our first. Which begs the question: “Should the TAGCast slip from coma to the morgue?”

In this very brief, 4 minute episode, I propose:

• Let the TAGCast die gracefully.
• Let it live again – like Phoenix rising from the ashes – new hosts, new topics.
• Migrate it to the (perhaps) aptly named TWAT – This Week’s Aussie Technology

If we go with option one, I’m thinking of bringing back the Mobile Smackdown, only, on the web… Where we’ll talk all things Mobile. I’m looking for a Windows Phone 7, Blackberry, and Nokia/Symbian co-host. Also monthly we’ll do impossible challenges with our smartphones.

Your call, loyal listeners…

It’s Friday night, in Castle Hill (the ‘burbs of Sydney), you’re in your forties (or fifties); responsible, upstanding, dependable, just, well, beige….

…so what do you do?

Well what you can do, is relive the time that started it all! The Summer of Love! Woodstock! A time of protest! A time when the young had the resources, the passion, and the purpose to challenge the status quo. A time very much like now (except that we’re now the status quo)…

Wild on Woodstock

This is a great show. Not least because of the music they play, or the headliners (Phil Emmanuel), or the brilliant musicians. All that is true of this show (even understatement). But everything else from the attention to detail, to the ambience, to the audience dancing and letting go like they haven’t, since the 60’s.

Some applaud. I create. So my attribute to Wild on Woodstock is my photos and videos of the gig. Enjoy.

With the video I suggest playing with HD on, in full screen, through a good set of speakers.

If you’re into classic rock, and get a chance, it’s worth seeing these guys.

I love it when technology works. When my mum, in her 60’s, can share her epic drive through Africa with over 200 people; and just chat to her grandkids every day as if she’s in the room.

From a young age I’ve been entranced by technology that works. Technology that enables. Technology that brings people together across time and space. In fact of all of the technologies I’ve studied, supported, designed, and implemented, it’s those that connect people that have enthralled me.

I’m old enough to remember our first TV, our first colour TV, and remember being gobsmacked by our first (top-loader) VCR. Imagine being able to pause Magnum P.I.

Touch-tone, then mobile telephones. Hand-held scanners. Modems. Ethernet. ISDN. Video Conferencing. Digital cameras. Messaging systems. PDA’s. The Internet. ICQ. Instant Messaging. Wi-Fi. ADSL. Smartphones. Webcams. VOIP. Social Media. I feel like I was born into exactly the right age, as I’ve worked with all of these (and their underlying) technologies. And loved every problem-solving, solution designing, people enabling second!

When sales people can submit an order whilst having coffee with their client. When a family can share a birthday dinner in real-time across oceans. That’s when I appreciate the true power of technology.

It’s also why I get frustrated when it doesn’t work.

I’ve been using Office Communicator, and Live Meeting for about 4 years now. Much of that, whilst working for Microsoft.

Office Communicator? Rock solid. I use this tool daily to have full-screen, Hi-Def video conferences with my work colleagues. Need to collaborate on a document, no problem, just share my second monitor. It really does enable us to work without the need for corporate offices. It just works. In working, it changes the way we can work!

Office Live Meeting on the other hand. Where do I start? Suffice to say, std operating procedure in organisations is to get to a meeting 15 mins early to set up Live Meeting. Even so, I have yet to see a Live Meeting start on time, with everyone connected. More often than not, half the participants are struggling to connect, or to get the video working, or the audio, or their presentation. Nightmare. Frustrating.

When it does work, invariably on a high-speed network, it’s great. Multi-party video, audio, screen sharing. But not once have I had a seamless experience, no matter the technical experience of the attendees. I mean, I can get it to work, but that’s pointless if people on the other end of the line cannot!! Even if it’s just one person. Especially if they’re not technical.

Skype on the other hand? Well, my mum uses that. And my daughters. No setup time, just click the green button. Need to add my brother from NYC into the conversation? No problem.

Oh – and it’s free. And it allows you to call people overseas on their phones for next to nothing. For people to call you, when you’re travelling, for the cost of a local call. In fact to give yourself a foreign phone number allowing people to call your mobile from the other end of the world, without even the need for a computer. It just works.

I love it when technology works. It’s why all of the collaborating  I do for usergroups, and with my family, uses Skype. I have pushed the Live Meeting barrow for too long. But it just. Doesn’t. Work.

What technology do you have to use that frustrates you?

Andrew Coates is an inspired Developer Evangelist for Microsoft Australia, who’s been using this water analogy to describe “the Microsoft platform” for some years. It’s a fantastic analogy, because water is something we all use everyday, the plumbing of which we now take for granted, at least in the developed world.

The platform is moving out of the company computer room, or data centre, and into what is now called, the Cloud!! Great big Utility like Datacentres, run by Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and about 41 other vendors.

Of course, we’ve had computing as a service since the bureaux days of AOL and Compuserve days in the ‘80’s! (actually CompuServe was founded in 1969) And I was fortunate enough to lead the team which built Australia’s first Hosted Email and Office Application Service Provider Data Centre back in 2000! Then CWO a-Services (CWO = Cable & Wireless Optus).

Note: I was working for Compaq at the time, who built & hosted the solution. They merged with HP, whilst Optus went to SingTel. I see that in 2004 the hosting was taken over by IBM, and it was shut down a scant 18 months later.

But vendors would have us believe that “Cloud Computing” is something entirely new.

Nevertheless, I’ve seen Andrew deliver this analogy many times. Today I notice that he’s had it made into an animation. It’s short at 2 min 55, and very sweet. Succinctly explains why computing is moving (back) into the Cloud, and the opportunities for developers, businesses, and individuals to innovate.

Enjoy.

And really there’s a lot to be impressed about.

Today we had the Readify “KickOn” event. I.e. the annual company kick-off. We fly the whole company together, this year in Melbourne. In the afternoon we meet to celebrate the achievements of the last financial year, and discuss the strategy for the next.

Already there’s a lot to be impressed about. Despite the GFC, we have continued to grow, both financially and in staff, without losing the quality of our consultants, clients, or projects we deliver.

This evening, however, we were in for a treat. Dinner in the Eureka Tower, on the 89th floor. The views, as you can imagine, were stunning, and the food to die for.

Of course no kick-off is complete without awards, and we celebrated the achievements on our peers. Then it was onto some serious eating, socialising, and of course dancing.

As a surprise, Sarah also organised the “Rhianna Effect” a great band, with a great sound, that got everyone on the dance floor.

What really impressed me though, was the video (and photos) that I took with my new phone. Here check it out for yourself, and do ensure that HD is turned ON for full effect. (sometimes it’s better to download the whole movie before playing it)

Consider this HD video is taken, hand-held (i.e. no tripod) and despite standing right next to the speaker, the iPhone Automatic Gain Control just handled it all.

Enjoy.

Last week I blogged about the abysmal experience I had flying home from London on QF32 that took over 49 hours. Well, I have to update that story.

This week Qantas finally followed up on my camera loss from 28 June. No they haven’t found it, and yes they confirmed this again with the team at Hong Kong. Of course there’s no compensation, but they have provided me with a letter that should suffice for my travel insurance.

Note: Always take out Travel Insurance!

They also sent me a letter and a travel voucher, to the tune of $800, as compensation for the disastrous flight. My first response was “wow!”

Upon further reflection, it doesn’t really compensate for a day’s lost revenue. Especially as I have to use the voucher on Qantas (not transferrable, and no JetStar allowed). But it does go some way, to saying sorry.

So, credit where credit’s due: Well done Qantas on the vouchers.

A couple of days ago, I was in Auschwitz! Which is the subject for another post (at least one). But also to say the I’m starkly aware of the contrast which the poor souls there faced in the context of our minor inconveniences over the last 48 hours…

I began Sunday, 11 July, early with a flight from Warsaw to London Heathrow. A terminal change, from the luxurious T5 to the dilapidated, crowded T3. Then boarding and preparing for the total sensual assault that entails flying for 27 hours in Economy. QF32, the 12:05 departure, even got away from the gate well in time with a promise from the captain we’d be early in Singapore.

Some 2 hours into the flight he announces we would be returning to London to secure some “loose cargo.” I got the gist that Frankfurt doesn’t have Qantas A380 Techs, so if the problem was serious, we would be delayed longer there than in London, where seemingly, techs abound. So, more serious than loose cargo I suspect. (I mean there are techs at Frankfurt that can operate a Tie Down, right?)

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not upset the pilot took us back. If there was a loud bang in the rear of the aircraft, I want the pilot to get us down safely and fix the problem on the ground. I gather the problem must’ve been pretty serious though. At least serious enough for the pilot to add at some 6 hours onto our flight, not to mention dump 30% of our fuel (so we weren’t too heavy to land), and incur the additional cost of landing slots, departure slots, and fuel burned en route.

What happened next though began as a comedy of errors, and descended into customer experience hell.

No Drinks

Our first meal, lunch, a choice of Chicken with Terragon or Pork Goulash, had been served late. It transpires that the crew had been discussing the possibility of diverting to Frankfurt for a couple of hours. Without a decision being made, they weren’t in the position to serve the meal. (Why? Beats me.) What that meant was that by the time the meal was served, there was now no more time to serve drinks before touchdown back in London. Actually, there was. Lunch had been served immediately prior to the turn-around, and we had 2 hours before touch-down in London. Bizarrely we weren’t served a drink with lunch. We hadn’t been served the customary water and juice (champagne in Business) before take-off either.

So by 15:45 we were back on the ground, but hadn’t yet been served a drink. As boarding began at 11:00 this was already well over 4 hours for most passengers.

No Connectivity

Back on the ground the techs took some time to establish we’d lost one of the toilet covers. Quote “This is not a structural component, merely an aesthetic cover for the toilet, which has departed the aeroplane.” Departed the aeroplane?!?!? What the hell does that mean?

As the aircraft was being refuelled, we were instructed not to turn on mobile phones. This made it impossible for people to contact their loved ones to let them know what was happening. I had contacted home via the on-board SMS service ($1.90 to send or receive a msg) as soon as we turned back, and was using my NetComm MyZone & iPad to keep Twitter updated as events transpired.

Weirdest though, was the simple lack of communication. Neither the captain, nor the Customer Service Manager, let us know what was happening. We did have the standard, “Please don’t use your mobile phones message,” a number of times. After about 2 hours I spoke to one of our flight attendants, Natasha, pointing out that as we were no longer refuelling it was the captain’s discretion to allow mobile phone use. At this stage we were well into 6 hours of the flight and people hadn’t the opportunity to let others know. Fortunately he decided to lift the communication ban. I got a cheer from those close enough to hear my request. (Why did it take a passenger to ask for this?)

Still no drinks

By this stage people were getting pretty restless, and I went to the front galley, next to the open door, to chat to a couple of the crew. I inquired about getting a drink, and was told “the soft drinks are locked in the bar with the alcohol, and there is a legal restriction on us serving this on the ground.” Pardon me, but a legal restriction?!?!? This ironically from a flight attendant that had just washed 3 first class glasses in front of me. Yep, First and Business, and presumably Premium Economy upstairs, were all being served. Just us muppets in Economy were dry.

To be fair, he did offer me a glass of water, but didn’t escalate to the CSM to serve drinks (even water) to the passengers. I was then asked to return to my seat, because I was blocking the “Emergency Exit.” Despite a gaggle of 5 crew and another 3 passengers milling in the same place. (Not to mention the 16 Emergency Exits with slides) I rather suspect my questions about customer service were unwelcome.

Allowable Crew Time

Twice the CSM called the crew to stand by their stations for a conference. No update to the passengers, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that 6 hours into a flight, looking down the barrel of at least another 12 to Singapore, our crew was reaching the legal duty limit.

Now I’ve had family work in two airlines before, and remember well that in these situations there’s usually a back-up crew who get called to take over. Not it seems for Qantas A380 crew in London! Our little bang in the cargo hold was turning out to be a real disaster.

Natasha told me that the Cabin Crew had unanimously voted (via the in-phone conference) to continue on. Apparently Cabin Crew can do that. Obviously the Cockpit Crew couldn’t.

Cattle class

We finally received an update that local Qantas staff had a “process” to cater for these occasions and we would be put up in a local hotel for the night. Great! Technically it should be a 12 hour break, so only a 12 – 13 hour delay, aiming to depart early Monday morning.

No, we wouldn’t be allowed to take our bags off the flight, as there were no facilities to re-check us in, in the morning. This was to prove a lengthy decision, but more on that later.

Of course we weren’t at one of the bays which could cope with the A380. So we deplaned (in class order of course) via a single external stairwell at the front of the aircraft. That’s over 400 people.

But where to now? There were just 3 Qantas staff to show the way. I don’t know if you have ever been through T3 at Heathrow, but it’s one of the busiest in the world. Without anyone telling us where to congregate, it was nigh on impossible, even for a fluent English speaker like myself, let alone the French couple in the seats next to me, to figure out just where to go.

I hung out just before the exit from Customs until I recognised a Qantas Ground Crew member and confirmed we should head out. I was next to the huge sign warning there was no re-entry. The last thing I wanted was to be out, with the flight congregating somewhere in transit, and no way to rejoin them.

We then were stood outside T3 whilst we waited for coaches. Literally just herded like cattle, with no announcement, no update, just a letter informing us we’d be given a room, a couple of meals, and our flight would depart at 9am the next morning. (9am!! Er, that’s 15 hours, not 12)

1st and Business were accommodated at the Hilton, whilst we were to be taken to the Park Inn. A wonderfully salubrious establishment on the outskirts the airport. Of course 1st and Business class passengers where whisked to their accommodation as soon as they hit the street, whereas the rest of us were left standing. As to the crew, we didn’t see hide nor hair of them.

Drinks…

Eventually at 20:35 I asked to speak to the Airport Duty Manager, and was told that 3 were on duty, & I was speaking to one. I set the context that we hadn’t had a drink since prior to getting on the aircraft at 11am, and that he may want to consider the passengers, standing in the heat, after over 9  hours without a drink. Initially I was met with “Sorry sir, we just don’t have facilities, we just want to get you to your hotel and will get a drink there,” but to Simon’s credit he re-assessed his response and organised a couple of pallets of bottled water from somewhere. This was greeted with cheers from the passengers, shortly before a group of touring schoolboys broke into song. They were joined in harmony by the touring English Netball Team.

Again, why did it take a passenger to suggest common sense, let alone customer service, to managers on duty? It struck me that all of the crew were empathetic, friendly, and when presented with solutions, they responded appropriately. Yet none of them took the initiative! They needed to be given instructions from their superiors, whom were too busy filling in paperwork and following “the rules.”

Board and Lodging

So by 20:45 the last 150 or so of us finally got onto a couple of coaches and were bussed to the Park Inn. As we approached, there were hoots of derision. It really is a run down place, but hey, a bed for the night. Everyone was given a room key, a dinner voucher, a breakfast voucher, and a 5 min calling card. The vouchers made it very clear that you could eat from the buffet only, no room service. The mini-bar and phone would be charged directly to the customer. But to top the day off, we were allowed just one soft drink!!?!!!?!

By this stage passengers had been making friends and bonding, so there was no lack of people to share a bottle of wine with, whilst we watched the last 30 mins of the World Cup. Speculation was that the crew really just wanted to catch the final, so had returned for that (totally unsubstantiated of course)

Up to the room – wonderfully asylum green walls, with nappy beige carpets (or is that caramel). Fortunately there was wi-fi. Not free of course, but Skype access gave me a 30 minute trial, which was enough to Skype home. The bandwidth was good, and a 30 min video seemed a touch better than a 5 min call.

23:45 Sleep!! We have to catch the 6:30 coach for our 9am flight. Really?!? I mean our bags are on the plane, we already have a boarding pass, there’s no check-in, why do we need 2.5 hours to traverse the 5 min airport road? (No idea.)

Brutal

I reckon that the hotel must’ve spoken to my wife about my sleeping habits, because the wake-up calls, 4 of them, began at 5:33 every 10 mins. Of course by this stage I’d had 5 hours sleep in about 48, so was feeling a little the worse for wear.

Down for breakfast, and I just sit down with my bacon, sausage baguette, to be told by a Qantas staff member that the last coach was leaving. But I’d had a refreshing sleep. I had hot tea, cold orange juice, a fresh baguette, and wonderful English bacon. So I was not to be rushed. After all, I figured we’d make the airport about 2 hours early anyway, and my bag was on the plane.

Ok, I was a little intimidated, and ate my Choc au pain on the coach.

There’s nothing like organisation….

And this was nothing like organisation. Back to the airport, back through security with all of the unpacking and undressing that entails, into the general terminal building. Right where’s our gate? Nup, not assigned!! (I’m really glad I rushed my breakfast to get here early.)

First the board mentions QF32D is awaiting gate. Then it lists the gate being announced at 8:45. (now 8:00) Then at 9:18 the gate is announced as Gate 5. Pardon!?! That’s the gate we disembarked at yesterday. So not only have they not moved the aircraft, they could’ve just told us to return here in the morning, and they certainly didn’t need over 2 hours before putting it on the board. Ho hum, in for a quick day then.

Now, we’d been told about out 9:00 departure, and as it was well past the hour we ran to the gate so as to aid our crew in getting onto the plane as quickly as possible. Why? I don’t know really, as there was a 400 strong queue waiting to be let into the gate. Only to sit waiting for boarding to be called.

When the rules should no longer apply

“No sir, you can’t get on the plane. We have to board 1st, Business, and Premium Economy Class first, and then in numbered rows from the rear.”

“Excuse me miss, but we’ve done this before, we’re all here, and we know exactly where we’re sitting.” Of course this is a pointless exercise, rules must be obeyed, despite the customer experience. This time though, we’d all bought our own drinks.

Hotel California

Finally, we’re across the ramp, and up the steps, on the plane. Buckled, ready to go by 10:15, when we hear Captain Anthony Borden again: “It seems 4 passengers haven’t made it back to the flight. As this is a security risk, we have to remove their bags.” Of course we realise no one has been scanned aboard, so there’s a bit of hunting for them to do to find out exactly who’s bags need to be removed.

The ground crew worked feverishly in the English summer heat to locate and retrieve the bags, but despite their best efforts it was well after our slot time of 10:30 by the time they’d completed the task. Another announcement, “We’ve missed our departure slot, the company is doing it’s best to negotiate an earlier time, but we’ve been allocated an 11:30 departure.” Out of the window I can see QF31, the inbound flight for today’s QF32. Sigh, our delay now stands at 23hrs30

“You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave!”
Hotel California, The Eagles

Singapore

Lunch was served. The identical menu to yesterday, so this time I had the chicken instead of the pork. And yes, we had a drinks service this time too. Again, after the meal, rather than with it as is customary. (Nope, no idea why…)

But this time our flight was largely uneventful.

New crew…

In Singapore we were given just 30 mins to disembark, with all of our carry-on luggage, and return for boarding. That’s a real pity, because Changi Airport is arguably the best in the world, and great for shopping. Not to mention getting a quick shower. 30 mins isn’t enough time though.

Our British crew left, and our Aussie crew joined. What a difference.

Yet more delays

40 passengers haven’t made the plane. By this stage, the rest of us are laughing. Hysterically. We certainly aren’t expecting to leave on time. But they find the passengers. No need to remove more luggage from the flight. All the time the crew is serving drinks, finding out what people need, would like. Helping mothers with children, and generally providing good service, we’re just too jaded to notice now.

After push-back we sit on the tarmac for a while, whilst today’s QF32 taxi’s into the bay next to ours, and we hear the dreaded ping of the Captain’s PA. “Sorry folk, we have a warning light, and need an engineer to clear the aircraft as safe, so we’ll be taxi-ing back to the gate.” Uh-oh, are we going to leave before the next flight? Passengers are actually wagering on the odds.

However, the first thing our new crew does, is break out the drinks trolley and serve all the passengers. (Huh, that law must be just for Qantas, in London, for Economy Class I guess)

And finally…

In short order we’re back on the tarmac. No idea what time it is in Singapre, London, or Sydney for that matter. We take off, and the captain put’s us in the jetstream with a tailwind, and full power. He makes the 9 hour flight from Sing in 6hrs45 – good on yer.

Of course we’re expecting the worst now. After all, anything else would just be so passe. What’s it going to be? Sydney closed for weather requiring a diversion to Melbourne or Adelaide? Passenger emergency requiring a turn-around or landing in Perth? Actually, neither of those.

Our wonderful captain (this one has been updating us constantly) does get onto the PA and mention that we can’t disembark until Quarantine has cleared the aircraft. Apparently a passenger has been sick for the entire flight, and law requires a quarantine check.

It seems it was an unaccompanied minor. Probably dehydrated…

The Sydney Quarantine Crew were very quick, and before I knew it, I was at the luggage carousel. I love Immigration in Sydney, they’re amongst the fastest in the world, and definitely the friendliest.

After 40  mins by bag still hadn’t appeared, and I was starting to worry. Between checking it in on a separately booked flight in Poland, and all of the rummaging around in the hold, I didn’t rate my chances that it had actually made it all the way.

And then, I heard my name called. One quick enquiry, yes it was my name. My bag had arrived 12 hours before on another flight Go figure.

Customer Service and Customer Experience

What a nightmare. It struck me that following the rules and processes isn’t enough. It may get the form ticked for customer service, but that doesn’t equate to a good customer experience. For that you need people to take initiative, think through the issues from the customer perspective, and sometimes, yes, break the rules.

• Is it more important to serve customers drinks, or lock the drinks cabinet because a superior said so? Seriously, I’m not the only one with a medical condition that requires continual hydration, and there’s only so much water you’re allowed to carry onto a flight nowadays.
• Is it more important to get to your hotel, or look after your customers? At least until you know personally that you’ve done all in your power to mitigate the situation.
• Is it more important to save face, or update people with what you do know, and how you’re attempting to find out what you don’t? Yes, “I don’t know,” is a valid answer.

I get the impression from “Business Stripped Bare” that had this been a Virgin Atlantic flight, the crew would’ve seen this as an opportunity to party, and look after the passengers until a relief crew, or bus came for them.

Sadly, it wasn’t…

But then, a couple of days ago I was in Auschwitz….

Postscript

PS If you were one of the passengers on QF32 from London on Sunday 11 July, please add your comment below.

PPS I did take a bunch of video throughout the experience, which I’ll be posting as soon as it’s edited and online.

On Monday night a bunch of the NSW Readify Consultants held our own “Ignite” evening. The format is to present a 20 slide, 5 minute, auto-advancing presentation (15 secs per slide) to the group.

This format is intense. Not only having to focus your presentation down to a mere 5 minutes, but also keeping to 15 secs per slide. Sometimes you have too much to say, sometimes you’e engulfed in silence. During preparation you seem to have all the time in the world to be articulate, but on stage those 15 secs fly by in a stuttering rush.

We could pick any topic we wanted, so I chose to talk about Cialdini’s Six Principles of Persuasion, and I related how Apple skillfully used them to persuade a once Microsoft Evangelism Manager to buy an iPad.

Here it is:

Note, I crafted and presented the Presentation on the iPad. The Audio was added in later, hence it sounding rather dry. On the night there was a touch more spontaneity & humour

What factors do you find affect your ability to influence?

Saw this here, and had to post. Too funny.

Gave my iPad a hug afterwards too